The Tony's
by AllWasWellatPigfarts
Summary: Rachel and Jesse reunite when she had to present him with a Tony. A view of their relationship over three consecutive Tony award ceremonies.


Here's a oneshot using the Tony's to reunite St. Berry. I used real Broadway actors but gave them random roles. Hope you enjoy.

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_The Tony Awards 2017_

Rachel waited backstage getting more and more nervous. After a year of playing Maureen in a revival of Rent, here she was at the Tony's about to present the award for best performance for a featured actor. When she had first been asked present the award she was ecstatic, it would be an amazing experience and as she hadn't been nominated herself, this way she had a way to be involved. It wasn't until she found out the nominations did she start to freak out.

Jesse. Jesse St. James had been nominated for his portrayal of Gabe Goodman in Next to Normal. The scorned ex-girlfriend (yes, it's been a long time but she's allowed to hold a bit of a grudge, and she did tell him that she would carry it around forever) wants him not to win, but the Jesse St. James fan girl who went to see the show is sure that he will win.

What is causing her a problem is that if (when) he wins she doesn't know how she'll greet him. To give him a brief kiss on the cheek seems a bit cavalier after all this time and everything that happened but it's the standard procedure. To snub him as he receives his award would be a complete embarrassment for both of them and she didn't want to be banned from the Tony's. Okay, she probably wouldn't be banned but they wouldn't ask her to present an award.

She tried to stop thinking about he would read each different reaction but before she could make a decision she and Alice Ripley were called forward to go out and present the award.

Rachel waited for the applause to die down before she began to talk.

"All the actors in this category are accomplished scene stealers." She said.

"The Nominations for Best Performance for a featured actor in a musical are..." Alice continued

"Aaron Tveit; Funny Girl."

"Jesse St. James; Next to Normal."

"Skylar Astin; A Chorus Line."

"John Gallagher Jr; A Chorus Line."

"The winner is..." Rachel opened the envelope. She smiled softly, pride welling up despite how she wished it didn't. "Jesse St. James." She smiled brightly.

She watched as he stood up in his seat and hugged one of his co-stars before heading down the aisle up to the stage.

Jesse's heart was pounding as he headed up towards the stage and towards Rachel who he hadn't seen since the time he went to visit her in her junior year and he had apologised. They hadn't spoken since then, they hadn't so much as shared eye contact and here she was about to hand him his first Tony, to stand by his side during one of the biggest moments of his career and it felt right. He would never admit it but he had always imagined this moment with her next to him, he'd kiss her once his name was announced and thank her in his speech. Maybe next time.

He walked across to the stage and was hugged by Alice Ripley who gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Then Rachel stepped forward smiling at him, and he could see it was genuine. Her smile was wide and her eyes were bright. She handed him the award and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Congratulations." She whispered into his ear "I'm proud of you." She said softly as she pulled away from him and went to stand off to the side.

"Wow." He breathed out into the microphone and a gentle chuckle echoed through the room. "I mean, thank you so much. This means so much to me and to be standing up here is just a dream come true. To even be nominated was an honour and to win, considering who was in my category it just... are you sure?" He turned back to Rachel who laughed with the rest of the crowd.

"I have so many people to thank, everyone involved in Next to Normal who this wouldn't be possible without, the actors, directors, producers you guys are all amazing. To my family, to Shelby who taught me everything I knew." He took one deep breath "but truly I owe this to the one person who taught me how to feel. This is for you, Rach." The last part was said quickly but Rachel caught it and his subtle glance back at her. "Thanks." He raised the award up and headed backstage.

Rachel ran backstage as soon as the lights went down and rushed to the restroom. She tried to gather herself in front of the mirror before she headed back out to her seat. She stepped out into the hallway and made her way back to the show.

_Later that night at the after party..._

Rachel stood drinking champagne with her co-stars. They had one the Tony for Best Musical and were hell bent on celebrating in style.

"Congratulations." She heard from behind her, knowing his voice instantly. She turned to him.

"Thanks, you too." She replied and he smirked. "What?" She asked indignantly.

"You're drunk." He teased.

"It has been known to happen." She returned. "And you should be, you just won a freaking Tony, Jesse! A Tony!"

"I'm aware." He laughed.

"Come on, you need more champagne."

So Rachel dragged him off to the bar to get some more champagne and they toasted each other, their shows, Broadway in general, anything they could think of. What neither realised was the stir they were creating and the few tabloid photographers who had gotten in were taking quite a few pictures of them. Everyone was now pretty sure that Jesse had been talking about Broadway up and comer Rachel Berry in his award speech.

"You know I went to see RENT, you make a very good Maureen." He complimented.

"It's kind of like playing a lesbian version of myself." She joked.

"Minus all your control freak stuff."

"I'm not that bad anymore." She said and he just raised an eyebrow. "Well in some things. I know I can't control other people anymore. It took me a while to learn but I know that now." Then she frowned. "Why did I just go so serious?" She hit him on the arm. "Jesse, celebration only, no self inflection."

"Hey, that was you."

"Whatever."

"One last bit of seriousness?" He asked and she nodded. "Why are you talking to me?"

"Because tonight is big for you and I want to be a part of it. Because we can talk and joke and act like nothing has happened, we can be how we should have been but in the morning I can pretend that it's just because I was drunk."

"Rach..." He started.

"One bit of seriousness only." She reprimanded. "Come dance with me?" She stood up and offered him her hand.

They danced for the rest of the night, stopping for one official photograph which would appear in quite a few magazines the next day as the gossip mills started. The photographer asked them for a picture and they stood with Jesse's arm wrapped around her waist and her leaning into him with her hand resting on his chest.

At the end of the night Rachel and Jesse slow danced and with Rachel's head resting on his chest.

"I never stopped loving you." He whispered.

"Jesse, don't..." She protested.

"I know I was an ass but I've grown up and I was sure that I would get over you but I haven't. Every love scene; I imagine she's you, every break up scene; I think of our last kiss. Rachel you have haunted me for the last seven years. Please, give me another chance."

"Jesse I'm too drunk to do this right now."

"Then I'll call you tomorrow." He promised.

_The Next Day_

"Why are you all over every magazine with Jesse St. Jackass?" Kurt burst his way through Rachel's apartment door quickly followed by Blaine for their annual Tony's dinner party. It was a tradition they had started in their Senior year of high school and until the year before when Rachel was invited they always watched it together. The year before they watched it the day after and they decided to do the same again this year.

"I was drunk?" She said hopefully.

"Nuh uh, not gonna wash. Spill it."

"I don't know, we just got talking at the after party and was like nothing ever happened. I forgot how alike we are and how easy it was for me to talk to him. I still don't get that very often, and even after all this time he knew me, he just..."

"Well, you must have been drunk." Kurt used her previous excuse.

"He thanked me in his speech." She muttered.

"Oh what? Thanks for being one of the people I crushed in my power play for success and fame?" At Rachel's hurt look he apologised. "I'm sorry Rach, but everything did happen. You can't just pretend that it didn't just because Jesse is charming. He could charm the pants off the devil and you know that."

"I know." Rachel nodded reluctantly.

"So are we going to watch the Tony's or what?" Blaine cut in.

They watched the show, commenting and arguing over every win, every dress and every speech. Suddenly Rachel appeared on screen and they stayed silent. They watched as Jesse came up to collect his Tony. They watched as they hugged. They listened to his speech and Rachel could not help the smile. Kurt decided to rewind Jesse's speech so he could analyse every little detail.

_"Wow. I mean, thank you so much. This means so much to be and to be standing up here is just a dream come true. To even be nominated was an honour and to win, considering who was in my category it just... are you sure?" _

"Fake modesty, that's a step up." Kurt commented remembering how arrogant Jesse had been when he joined New Directions.

"Shhh." Rachel silenced him.

_"I have so many people to thank, everyone involved in Next to Normal who this wouldn't be possible without, the actors, directors, producers you guys are all amazing. To my family, to Shelby who taught me everything I knew but truly I owe this to the one person who taught me how to feel. This is for you, Rach. Thanks."_

Kurt rewound it again.

_"This is for you, Rach."_

And again.

_"This is for you, Rach."_

"That is so sweet." Blaine told her.

"I know. He told me that he never stopped loving me." Rachel told them. "At least I think he did. He asked for a second chance."

"What did you say?" Blaine pressed.

"That I was too drunk to talk about it but he said he'd call me today. What should I do?" She exclaimed.

"I think you should date. Get to know each other again, don't rush into anything and see what happens." They both looked to Kurt to see what his opinion was.

"Just be careful." He finally gave in. "And let him know that Blaine and I will kick his ass if he hurts you again."

Blaine excused himself to use the bathroom.

"Thank you Kurt. I know you're wary but I need to know that you have my back and that I have your blessing."

"Yeah well, I always thought Jesse was a good match for you until he went all nutso."

"Nutso?" She giggled.

"Yeah, I was always a bit doubtful but he genuinely seemed to listen to you, which is an improvement on any of your other boyfriends, and he looked like he was always trying to protect you. It's why when he did what he did, although I always thought he was a spy, I was surprised. I didn't think he would do something like that to you personally."

"Neither did I. Maybe, neither did he." Rachel considered. "I don't really want to rehash the past though. If we do this, we're moving forward not looking back."

"How wise." Kurt quipped.

Just then Rachels phone started to ring.

_The Tony Awards 2018_

Rachel and Jesse had now been dating for a year and were known as the Broadway power couple. They were tabloid fodder and could do no wrong in the eyes of the American public and with Jesse having recently starred in a movie and a few guest spots on a few TV shows they were pretty well known. Rachel had just left RENT to star as Elphaba in Wicked and they were walking the red carpet together.

They stopped and posed for the photographers and did interviews together.

"So now you're playing Elphaba, is there any chance Jesse will step in for a run as Fiyero?" The reporter asked. "You did such a good job before." Referring to the time towards the beginning of his career when Jesse had been the understudy for Fiyero.

"I do love performing with Rachel but I think if we were in something together it would have to be something perfect for both of us." He smiled charmingly.

"But we're all waiting to see you two in a show together." The reporter laughed. "Now, Rachel you have received rave reviews for your performance in Wicked and it's only been a couple of weeks."

"I know! It's so overwhelming! I'm just glad people think I'm doing a good job.",

They moved on down the red carpet and into the building. Neither had been nominated but Jesse was performing and Rachel sat, smiling proudly as he sang Your Eyes from RENT, keeping eye contact with her the entire time.

Everyone internally aw'ed. The tabloids had uncovered that they had a past, luckily the details were a bit murky but everyone could tell that this song meant something between them and luckily for them they were just shy of the sickening type of famous couple due to the fact that they didn't openly flaunt their relationship, at least not that often.

_The Tony Awards 2019_

Rachel walked down the red carpet her left hand gripped in Jesse's. She was nominated for Best actress and was nervous but it was already one of the best days of her life.

After she had spent hours getting ready she had walked into the living room of the apartment she and Jesse shared to see him standing by their window looking out. She noticed that he was jiggling nervously, she crept up behind him and was about to surprise him when she saw him gripping a ring box in his hand.

Having seen her in the window, he turned towards her smiling nervously.

"Rachel."

"Jesse." She smiled back.

"I'm so proud of you and I know you're going to win tonight. You're amazing, beautiful, talented, bossy, controlling, crazy, funny, amusing, sexy as hell. You're everything that I could ever possibly want or need. I can't imagine my life without you. You're it for me. Usually it's your job to ramble and talk to much but I guess I'm trying to say-"

"Yes!"

"Would you let me ask the god damn question?"

"No. I want to see the ring." She laughed, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes as he opened the box. Inside was an antique diamond engagement ring. It was delicate but beautiful and Jesse was sure it would fit Rachel perfectly.

"Jesse, it's beautiful!" She gasped.

"So Rachel Barbara Berry, will you do me the great honour of becoming my wife?" He asked as he slid the ring onto her left ring finger.

"Yes." She cried, there was no stopping the tears now as she pulled him close and kissed him. "You've ruined my make up!" She chided him.

"Why do you think I told you we had to leave an hour earlier?" He teased and she sighed in relief. "This way we can have awesome engagement sex." He smirked.

"How about an engagement quickie? We can properly celebrate tonight." She told him as she pulled him into their bedroom.

She was so happy, even if she didn't win tonight she didn't think she would even care. She had something no one else did. She smiled up at Jesse and kissed him on the lips. A reporter stopped them for an interview. They spoke for a while about Rachel's nomination and then as usual she moved on to ask about their relationship.

"So you two are back on track?" The reporter asked. She was referring to the brief time a few months previously when Rachel and Jesse had split causing a tabloid storm. It hadn't taken them long or even that much Kurt interference for them to fix their problems. Jesse briefly moved back to Ohio and all the magazines tried to figure out the reason for their split. All of their guesses were wrong.

It had actually been tension between Rachel and Shelby that had caused the split. Jesse and Shelby had stayed close and Rachel accepted that as much as she didn't like it. She knew that Jesse's parents were never around and he had Shelby instead but it was and unspoken rule between them that they did not bring her up. This had been fine until Shelby was diagnosed with breast cancer. Jesse had instantly traveled to her side and he had gotten mad at Rachel when she told him she wasn't going.

When he came back he continued to push Rachel to go and see Shelby but she refused which made him angry. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't take this chance. He thought that if something happened to Shelby, she would regret it. He couldn't understand that Rachel was still hurt that Shelby had rejected her before and she didn't want to come into her mother's life just to watch her die. The final straw had come when she told him that Shelby meant nothing to her. This had personally hurt Jesse and he left. Rachel was devastated but was scared that this was something too big to fix.

A month later after a lot of consideration she decided to fly to Ohio to see Shelby. She wasn't going to tell Jesse until she had truly made a decision. She waited in a rental car until Jesse went out and then went to the door. Beth answered and then led her into Shelby who looked completely shocked to see her.

"Rachel! I didn't think you would come." Her voice was weak and Rachel wanted to run out of the door.

"Me either." She spoke bluntly.

"You're here for Jesse?"

"Yes, no I, uh I don't know why I came. I didn't want to but..."

"But what?"

"But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try, even if you sent me away again."

"Rachel, I didn't send you away. I just thought that it wasn't the right time for me to come into your life."

"When isn't the right time for a girl to have a mother? It wasn't the right time for you. You never called, you never tried again." Rachel cried. "I don't know why I came." She turned around to leave but Shelby's voice stopped her.

"Please, don't go." Shelby pleaded. "When Jesse told me that you were never going to come and that he had left you I didn't know what to do. I tried to get him to go back but he wouldn't leave, he's too damn stubborn that one." She chuckled but Rachel stared blankly, still eying the door every so often. "I thought that he would be able to convince you to come."

"You always do get him to do your dirty work for you." Rachel spat bitterly. "No matter what it does to me or my relationship with him."

"I never meant to cause problems with you two."

Rachel scoffed.

"Please Rachel, let me know you."

"I don't know. I need to go. Please don't tell Jesse I came."

"Will I see you again?"

"I don't know."

Rachel ran out of the house and threw herself into the rental car and sobbed onto the steering wheel. It was too much, despite everything she had always wanted a relationship with Shelby, she wanted to know her but seeing her weak and lying in bed like that was too much and she found it easier to bring up every bad thing she could think of and throw it in Shelby's face. She knew that she would come back. She wouldn't leave it like that.

She continued crying in the car, thinking about Shelby, her illness, the fact that she could die, the fact that Jesse might not forgive her, but for what, she wasn't quite sure. Suddenly the drivers door was pulled open and she looked up to see Jesse. He looked at her sympathetically and she furiously wiped her eyes and went to put the key into the ignition but she couldn't quite grasp it and angrily threw the keys at the windscreen. They bounced off and landed on the floor somewhere. She failed to reign in the sobs that choked at her throat and Jesse couldn't stop himself from crying at seeing the pain she was in. He pulled her out of the car and wrapped his arms around her letting her sob into his chest. Neither knew how long they were standing there for, when Rachel calmed down they sat down on the curb and Rachel rested her head on Jesse's shoulder.

Rachel told Jesse everything that she had been feeling since he told her about Shelby's diagnosis. She told him how she tried to fool herself and why she pushed him away and said all the things she did to him. She told him about her visit with Shelby and he encouraged her to go back in. He explained why he reacted the way he did and they agreed that they had been stupid and they couldn't let things like this tear them apart. They needed to face these things together or they wouldn't be able to cope.

He took her hand and lead her back into the house. "I love you." He had whispered before they entered the house, hand in hand.

Rachel, much to the delight of Jesse, now had a tentative relationship with Shelby and even Beth. Shelby had also gone into remission so they were all able to breath a sigh of relief.

Hearing Jesse answer the reporters question pulled Rachel out of her memories.

"We never were really that far off the track." He smiled bringing Rachel in closer. "I'd even go so far as to say we're perfect." He kissed her temple.

"You two are adorable." She said. "Good luck tonight, Rachel." She finished with and they continued down the red carpet.

Rachel was performing quite early in the show so she went to get ready and told Jesse to sit in her aisle seat. She also left her engagement ring with him, saying she wanted the announcement to be at the perfect time. He had an idea of what that would be and kept the ring in his pocket.

Rachel performed Rain on my Parade and strutted down the aisle the same way she had the first time he ever saw her and she came and sat on the arm of his chair and sang to him briefly before flouncing off.

After she had performed she came back to sit next to him and they locked hands waiting for her category to be called all the while hiding her left hand which now had the engagement ring firmly in place.

The nominations for her category were announced by Aaron Tveit and she gripped Jesse's hand so hard he had to work to prevent a grimace but he knew he was just as nervous as she was.

"And the winner of Best Performance for a Lead Actress in a musical goes to..." He opened the envelope.

Rachel and Jesse shared a look and Jesse briefly kissed her on the forehead.

"Rachel Berry!"

Rachel heard a whirring in her hears which over powered the applause. She felt Jesse pull her to stand up and kiss her firmly on the lips before setting her off in the direction of the stage while laughing slightly as she just looked dazed. Luckily by the time she reached the stage she had regained control of her body and was smiling widely and modestly.

She stepped forward to begin her speech and her engagement ring glistened but it didn't seem that many had seen it. Rachel's over dramatic tears keeping most of the audience's attention.

"Oh my God." She breathed deeply, laughing but producing more tears. "This is the best day ever. I want to thank-" She paused to swallow the frog in her throat. "I want to thank all the cast and crew that I work with, they're all so talented.

"I need to thank Kurt and Blaine for always being there, for watching the Tony's with me all those years ago when I would imagine it being me one day. To my Dad's who never stopped believing in me, to my Mom, but mostly I need to thank Jesse. He's been my best friend, my coach, my biggest fan, the biggest pain in my ass" She joked and the crowd laughed but she just teared up again as she saw him smiling up at her. "And now my fiance." She smiled, everyone's attention was now drawn to her left hand which was clasped around her award. "I love you, baby I wouldn't be here without you. Thank you" She smiled and blew him a kiss as she stepped away from the podium and headed backstage ready for her interview.

"So first of all congratulations on the award but I think we've all been blinded by the gorgeous rock on your left hand."

Rachel smiled and laughed while trying to wipe the tears away.

"So how long have you two been engaged?"

"Only a few hours. He proposed right before we left to come here." She laughed.

"Aww, it really has been an amazing day for you!"

"Yeah, I don't think anything could top how I'm feeling right now. I'm on top of the world."

"Well, congratulations on both counts and we'll let you get back to your fiance, I'm sure he wants to congratulate you."

Rachel nodded and graciously left as quickly as she could. She couldn't wait to turn her phone and see all the messages that would undoubtedly be waiting for her. When she returned to her seat Jesse pulled her in for a long kiss and when they sat down his arm cemented itself around her waist.

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A/N: I might do a sequel because I really enjoyed writing this but let me know what you think.


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